
Flamingos
“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.”-Jane Austen

Flamingos
“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.”-Jane Austen

Miss Zizi
“The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels.”-Simone de Beauvoir
7-13-13: Columbus.

Random building, pretty trees.

Wendy’s historical marker.

One of the new CoGo bike sharing stations.

The coolest vendors at Moonlight Market.
“That familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”-The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
A birthday gift from my darling husband…

Still American Silent Motion Picture Photography by David S. Shields
I’m spending today gallivanting around town with the husband, doing birthday things. I will see all of you dear readers tomorrow. Have a lovely day!

Birthday pedicure
“There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents, you know.”-Lewis Carroll
This week has been a busy one. In addition to the Fourth of July holiday, The Chef and I hosted our first out-of-town guests. My studio is still a work-in-progress. I never thought it would take a month and counting to get organized. I will keep pushing through until it is precisely what I need it to be. Regular posting will resume on Monday, with more in-depth content following a week later. I would promise the return of book reviews, [R]evolving Incarnations, etc. sooner but, alas, dear readers, this is my birthday week. I made a pact with myself to step back and fully enjoy the turning of a new decade. Until then, here is a look at my not-very-literary or productive week. Enjoy!
My sister-in-law Laura gave me this nifty old book as a housewarming gift. It was printed in 1912.

The Book of Parties and Pastimes
We are hosting a big party in 3 weeks, so this will come in handy! We are going to foist at least one of the frivolities detailed in this book on our guests. There are so many to choose from, including:
How could any of these possibly go wrong?
Lytton Strachey organized his books from Z-A. What fun, I say! I love the peculiar precision of this arrangement, and have adopted its use.

Starting with Zola

Stein-Joyce

Hesse-Dickens
How do you arrange your books?
“In pure literature, the writers of the eighteenth century achieved, indeed, many triumphs; but their great, their peculiar, triumphs were in the domain of thought.”-Lytton Strachey
Duncan has agreed to sit here and look cute whilst I continue my unpacking and cleaning ways.

Cat watching and book guarding!
“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”-Mark Twain
“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.”-Walt Whitman
I am not a plant or flower or tree person. I cannot keep green things alive. I’ve no idea what kind of tree this is-I only know that it overlooks my second-story studio and that it is refreshingly lovely.

New studio view.
It’s a beaut, isn’t it?

Take two: first-floor view from the front porch.
The studio will be ready next week. I can hardly wait.
“To the great tree-loving fraternity we belong. We love trees with universal and unfeigned love, and all things that do grow under them or around them-the whole leaf and root tribe.”-Henry Ward Beecher